09/05/2026
For 1,010 days, Ginger Spice had been waiting for someone to choose her.
So one evening, Jess decided that even if she could not give Ginger a home, she could give her something outside the kennel walls.
Ginger is a 7-year-old mixed-breed dog currently waiting at Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation in Hampton Bays, New York. Her wait actually began before she arrived there. She had previously been at the Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter after entering the shelter system as a stray in 2022.
By the time Ginger reached 1,010 days without finding her family, she had become Southampton's longest-waiting resident.
That is when Jess gave her a different kind of evening.
Ginger was helped into the car wearing a pair of adorable blue pajamas. Instead of another night surrounded by the familiar sights and sounds of shelter life, she was driven to the beach.
There, Ginger walked across the sand.
She stood near the water.
And as evening arrived, she sat beside Jess and watched what the shelter described as her very first sunset.
It was only one outing.
When it ended, Ginger still did not have a home to go to.
The shelter says she can be shy when meeting someone new and may need several visits before she feels safe enough to fully open up. Ginger weighs about 51 pounds and can do well with select dogs, particularly a compatible male dog, but she needs a home without cats.
Perhaps the hardest part came after her story began reaching thousands of people online.
According to the shelter's update reported by DogTime, Ginger received only two adoption applications. One came from outside the state.
As of September 1, Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation still lists Ginger Spice as available for adoption.
Jess could not make 1,010 days of waiting disappear that evening.
But she could open the car door.
She could take Ginger to the beach.
And for one sunset, the longest-waiting dog at the shelter got to experience a little more of the world she is still waiting to call home.
